The NFL Roundup 2019: Super Bowl LIII Recap

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

​When one thinks of the Super Bowl, perfection comes to mind. For the two best teams in the league take the stage in this game, and their special brand of football and incredible execution means we are often treated to memorable games that feature thrilling moments and outright stunning plays as both teams give it their all for a right to hoist the Lombardi Trophy and enjoy the title of Super Bowl Champions. However, the reality of the game is that not every single Super Bowl is going to turn out to be an instant classic and for proof, look no further than Super Bowl LIII.
 
Which is fascinating, since last night’s game appeared on paper, as though it was going to be an incredible battle between two quality quarterbacks, which meant the score should have been wild as Jared Goff took full advantage of the Patriots’ uneven secondary while Tom Brady slowly disassembled Wade Phillips’ quality and stifling defense. But instead, we were treated to a sloppy mess of a game, one that saw the Rams struggle mightily on the field as the Patriots worked their way toward their sixth Super Bowl Victory in the Belichick/Brady era and well, before we get into what made this particular game tough to watch, let’s take a moment and talk about what made it worth our while.
 
First and foremost, history was indeed made because the Patriots are now the second franchise in NFL History to win six titles, an honor they share with the Pittsburgh Steelers, and Tom Brady also made history since he is now the only player to own six Super Bowl rings and as an added bonus, this was quite the defensive showing through and through. For the Rams defense did make life hell for Brady for most of the game since they were able to sack #12 and pick him off and disrupt his timing. And the New England defense was no slouch in this game either since they confused Jared Goff to the point where he didn’t have a clue as to where to throw the ball.
 
Which brings me to what quite frankly, made this game a stinker. Because in essence the Rams offense didn’t show up in this game. After all, Todd Gurley and the running game as a whole were non-factors in this matchup, and I made mention of the fact that Goff looked confused in this game. Yet, while he struggled under center, I blame the coaching staff for not putting Goff in a position to succeed since they didn’t bother to make any adjustments, nor does it seem that any coaching happened on the sidelines either since #16 had trouble reading the Patriots defense and one of the coaches should have helped him to recognize weaknesses in the New England secondary.
 
Those problems on offense are what led to the Rams eventual downfall because that vaunted defense wore down as the game went on, allowing for Brady and company to exploit a weakness and their important accomplishment will be grossly overshadowed by the fact that this was a messy and often boring game. One that featured all kinds of sloppy play and while I understand the point that I made, in that…not every game will wow us, I really did expect more from this one. I wanted to see some kind of fight or drive from the Los Angeles offense, instead there was only frustration and mistakes and well, as a fan, I can safely say that this Super Bowl was disappointing to say the least because the Los Angeles Rams folded on the biggest stage, and all we can hope for at this point, is that the two teams that take the field in Super Bowl LIV, give us their all, so we don’t have to sit through an embarrassment like this again.  

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